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“You don’t talk to me like that,” he growled, leaning closer to me and choking me to the point where I couldn’t catch a breath at all. I scraped my short nails down his arms, feeling blood gather underneath them. I wasn’t sure whether it was his blood or mine, but I hoped it was enough for him to let go. “You’re lucky you’re family.” His breath fanned over my face. “Because if you weren’t, I’d have cut your voice box out so you could never talk to me again.”
His muscles flexed, his body begging him to do as he said, and I witnessed the glint of his knife in his other hand—a knife that he always had on him. At this point, I’d do anything to be able to take a full breath. The edges of my vision were starting to blacken, signaling that the impending passing out was close on the horizon.
I dug my nails into his skin, piercing him like an orange peel as I desperately tried to heave in a breath. My fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, and I couldn’t stop my gaze from flicking off Hut, but what I didn’t expect was my body’s immediate reaction to stare at Brody. He was the one person in this house who was least likely to help me, but his clenched fists at his side and the fire in his eyes gave me hope that he’d step in. That he’d stop Hut from killing me in front of all these people because, right then, it was a real possibility.
I begged Brody with my eyes, hoping like hell he’d speak up as Hut’s grip became as tight as a vise.
“Hut,” Brody called, letting his fists uncurl as he stepped forward. He pulled his vibrating cell out and held it up between us. “You got a call.”
Hut stared at me for one last second and moved his attention to the screen of the cell. His muscles jerked, his hand squeezing one last time, and then he let go. He didn’t say a word as he stepped back, yanked the cell out of Brody’s grip, and walked away.
My body sagged, my hands cupping my sore neck, and I greedily dragged in burning breaths.
Chapter Three
BRODY
It took every ounce of strength I had not to yank Hut’s hand from her neck. The girl was just a kid. She may not have carried herself like that, but her file told me she was only nineteen—young enough to have been my daughter.
At thirty-five, I’d seen a lot of shit in my life. I wasn’t a stranger to a man hurting a woman, or even the other way around. Violence was the norm in this life, but I could always step in and stop it. I’d become who I was now to be able to have a say. To punish those who thought it was okay to hurt other people because t
hat was the crux of everything. I could list off lines and lines of crimes, and they’d all hurt someone if not physically then emotionally. It wasn’t someone else’s right to hurt. And yet I’d stood there while Hut choked the shit out of the kid.
I couldn’t step in between them, no matter how much I wanted to. It would blow everything we’d worked toward for the last two years. One wrong move and it could all be over in the click of fingers. I wouldn’t do that to myself, and I certainly wouldn’t do it to my team.
And then her eyes met mine. The pleading showcased in her teary, hazel pools had my stomach dipping. My body swayed toward her, and I had to pull it back while hoping no one else had seen the exchange. She was begging me to help her. The one person in this house who shouldn’t have cared, and yet I seemed to be the only one who gave a shit. The room was full of people. People who stood by and let Hut choke her to the point of her passing out. But I wasn’t so sure he’d stop there. He had a wildness about him tonight when I’d turned up. Something I’d yet to see from him.
The cell I kept in my pocket only for Hut’s contacts vibrated, and my breath left me in a whoosh. My muscles loosened just enough for me to step forward and pull it out. My ears buzzed as my vision tunneled in on the two of them. I didn’t know fuck all about their relationship. The intel we’d collected was basic, but I was starting to realize this kid would be the answer we’d been searching for. She’d give Hut up.
At least, I hoped she would.
Hut finally let the kid go, and she sagged against the wall, drawing in breaths that she may have thought she’d never be able to do again. It was a scary thing being on the edge of life and death. No matter how much you tried to explain it, you couldn’t do it justice. People who had been there understood, and people who hadn’t hopefully never would.
The chatter in the room grew as Hut stepped out into the backyard, but my feet stayed planted to the spot. I wanted to step forward and ask the kid if she was okay, see if there was anything I could get her, like a glass of water or some shit, but I knew I couldn’t. All it would take was one person to notice, and then Hut would know.
I was on a balancing beam, fighting to stay on and not tumble to the ground. Doing the right thing—the thing I’d told myself I’d always do—wasn’t what I could do. I had to be the old me, the one who saw girls as a means to an end, and money as everything.
The kid stood to her full height, which only brought her to my chest, but didn’t take one look my way. Maybe she knew the silent rules too?
She walked away, her retreating back getting smaller as she pushed her way through the crowd and up to her room. The pull to follow her was like an invisible thread tugging at my body. She was it. She was the answer. But I had to bide my time.
“Heading out. Watch the house,” Hut growled as he stomped past me. For a grown-ass man, he sure liked to act like a toddler at times. Maybe that attitude was the one that had gotten him to the top of his game. No one trusted a toddler’s mood swings, much like how people acted toward Hut. He was unpredictable, and that made for a dangerous man.
I gritted my teeth and stayed silent. He was about to head out on a deal of some kind, and I was left minding the house. I kept telling myself that I had to pay my dues, to prove my loyalty to him. Patience had always been my strong point, but after thirteen months of waiting to get an invite into his house and effectively his crew, I was growing impatient.
I wanted my normal life back.
I wanted to sleep in my own bed and not on a lumpy mattress in the apartment I was staying at.
I wanted this to be over.
Hut and two of his guys—Jace and Quinn—left the house, leaving behind a raging party full of people drugged off their faces. What would look like a normal party to the naked eye, was really rush hour for Hut’s business. It was the perfect cover-up for his deals, and after watching the way he moved around and spoke to people, I realized this was where it all took place. He never had anything on him whenever he’d been stopped by marked or unmarked police cars, and now it made sense. He was doing it all from his house where a warrant would be needed to search. A warrant that we hadn’t been able to get yet.
I sauntered back to my original position, next to the door that led to the backyard, and scanned the room. Each movement was cataloged in my brain, stored away for when I got out of here and could analyze it all. It was already past 1 a.m., and I didn’t anticipate the party slowing down anytime soon. Leaning against the wall, I mentally categorized everything that had happened tonight so far, and before I knew it, the music was being turned down to a low hum, and the kitchen had emptied.
I moved over to the kitchen table and sat on one of the rickety chairs, glancing into the living room as I did. Ted, one of Hut’s crew, was passed out on the sofa, a group of girls surrounding him with barely any clothes on. The floor was littered with people asleep.
I was the only one left awake.
